Dead Space 2 (360) (From Daily Echo)

Dead Space 2 (360)

in Game Reviews By Ian Crump

Genre: Survival Horror

Platform: Xbox 360

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Classification: 18 (BBFC)

After spending hours cutting off the limbs of grossly disfigured humans and having apparitions of his dead girlfriend, the events of the first game clearly and not surprisingly had an adverse psychological effect on Isaac Clarke's mind. He's a shadow of his former self, being mentally rehabilitated and interrogated by Earth-Gov for information about the marker.

Gamers that missed out on the original Dead Space need not be worried, not only is there a movie available for re-cap but only a few minutes in to the game, players are thrown head-first into the action.

A true curer of constipation, Dead Space 2 doesn't need to rely on scaring people with just random unexpected jitters of noise, it's creepy ambience is frightening in a much more cerebral way. There's something chilling about the shadows of nearby objects thrown across a distant wall whilst engines and air conditioning create a distant and eerie moaning noise.

Then there's the Necromorphs, deformed humans that come in a variety of human slaughtering shapes and sizes. Some have machete limbs, some incredible power and some exploding bits - all have a penchant for killing.

But it's not just a survival horror game here, it's also an incredible shooter that's brought to life with fluid movement and a great control system. So often, you'll see one element sacrificed for the other, but not with Dead Space 2.

Of course with a shooter there are guns, and Dead Space 2 packs its fair share, each being intricately upgradable as is the armour and stasis power.

Another element that's often the downfall of a survival horror is the wooden and limited movement of the characters, but with Isaac they're seamless. Whether he's thrusting himself into ventilation shafts, engaging in close-quarter-combat with Necromorphs or jetpacking through space, Isaac has movement variety by the spade full.

Moments of intense action are constantly thrown Isaac’s way which often create a refreshing take on gameplay and demand players to think on their feet.

Taking place aboard a metropolis called the Sprawl, There's a sense that people actually lived as well as worked there, making the environment seem more like a third-person Bioshock in space, than the tedious steel corridors of its predecessor. To add to that feel is a strong narrative that twists and turns as its progresses.

Since the release of Dead Space, Visceral games clearly haven't been sat on their hands, getting ready to churn out more of the same. Instead this team have channelled their energy into tweaking every visual and gameplay aspect, throwing in a bunch of new moves and coming up with a title that looks and has the intensity of a fantastic Hollywood blockbuster.

Dead Space 2 would not be dead space on any gamers shelf.

SCORE: 8 / 10